Houston: January transfer replacements, not supplements

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David Oliver

Published:08:03Monday 02 January 2017

Peter Houston has confirmed he needs to move players out before any fresh faces can come in – and admitted he’s frustrated by the January transfer scenario the club is in.

Falkirk have cash at the bank but Houston has been told only replacements for his squad – and not supplements – can be acquired this month.

Peter Houston admitted there was little between the Falkirk and Hibs but his side had been too inconsistent

That’s in stark contrast to Neil Lennon, opposite him on Saturday, who confirmed post-match that Chris Humphrey’s deal was complete and he was looking at further strengthening for his Premiership push.

Houston mused: “Who’s to say Hibs won’t strengthen even further? That’s where we are as football clubs.

“You’re talking one club getting 14, 15 thousand a week and they’re a well supported club. They’re speculating to accumulate to get back up because they’re a big club who should be in the Scottish premier League. We’re a small country with big clubs like United and Hibs in the second tier.

“We are a club, who went into administration once before and vowed never to do it again. So we have a budget that budget is spent.

“The only way, even though there is money in the bank, the board is saying that if I try to move people on I’ve got their wages and I can understand in many ways where they’re coming from.

“Yeah, frustrated, disappointed because you want to...”

However Houston added that based on Saturday’s narrow, late defeat his side maybe weren’t all that far away from the league leaders – but they sit 12 points behind the Hibees at the turn of the year.

“If Hibs are top of the league and the best team I dont think we’re that far away. Hwoever when I look at it based on what our season has been like so far. “We have been too inconsistent. We lost to Dumbarton – a game we should never have lost – but we need to work at that ourselves and on the training ground and get a run going like the one early season with five wins and a draw.

“At this stage our aim has to be the play-offs and I’ll be disappointed with the squad that we’ve got if we don’t get them.